Thou shalt not
by Kunoichi Uchiha
Summary: CxYxR. Cloud meets the girl of his dreams, then he meets her boyfriend.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N-Hey guys! This is my first real attempt at writing fanfiction so go easy on me. I decided that since there are hardly any fics of my favorite couple then I'm going to make my own! Any suggestions will be awesome!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. My cat's name is Cloud though and I own him! **

Chapter 1

The ability to breathe left him the moment he laid eyes on her. She walked with an air of confidence unlike any other woman that he had ever known. It was as if she had no care as to whether her clothes were fashionable or if her hair was shiny. Despite these facts, she was no doubt a flawless beauty. Her dark brown hair was cut short and was slightly tousled from the brisk wind in the cool autumn weather. She was athletically slim, not like the girls who starve themselves to look like a supermodel, but the kind of slim that comes with having an overabundance of energy and a physical hobby. The most stunning part of her, however, was her eyes. She had stormy gray eyes that he knew could show emotion fiercer than the most violent storm.

"Cloud," his friend Squall Leonheart said to the previously stunned man. He and Squall, or Leon as he liked to be called, have been friends for a few months. Leon invited Cloud over to his house to study for an upcoming test in Anatomy. Sitting at the kitchen table they we interrupted by the young girl that had caused Cloud's heart to beat at an irregular and rapid pace. "I want you to meet my little sister, Yuffie," Leon said gesturing to the beauty.

"Hi," Yuffie said with a slight wave on her way to the fridge. She pulled out a pint of ice cream and a clean spoon from the sink. Sitting down at the table with the two boys she turned to Cloud and asked, "So, you go to school with Squall?"

"Leon," came a frustrated comment from brunet man.

"Yeah," Cloud said swallowing the rather large lump that had formed in his throat. "I'm in his Anatomy class."

Yuffie smiled brightly. "How unfortunate for you," she replied.

"Yeah it is kind of boring," Cloud said smiling slightly.

"I meant being in a class with my brother," She said seriously. Cloud tried to hold back his laughter but failed miserably. He looked over to Leon to see him glare menacingly at his younger sibling. She looked over at him with a confident smile that clearly mocked him.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Leon stated as he got up, his glare never leaving Yuffie until he left the kitchen.

Cloud looked at Yuffie as she watched her brother leave. She really was stunning, particularly when her eyes were filled with humor as they were now. He searched his brain for a conversation starter but he found that his mind was completely blank.

Yuffie looked back to Cloud once Leon was out of sight.

"So, what is a cutie like you doing hanging out with a guy like my brother?" Yuffie said leaning back in her chair and taking a scoop of her ice cream. She looked expectantly at Cloud as she waited for her answer.

Cloud's eyes widened at the 'cutie' comment and he looked away from Yuffie as the blood rushed to his face in a very un-Cloud like blush. He looked back to her when his blush receded slightly and found an amused smile was on her face.

"You're kind of shy aren't you?" she said giggling. He looked at her and smiled shyly not knowing what to say. He found it was hard to stare into her eyes for long, it felt as if she could read his mind and he really didn't want her to know his thoughts, particularly of her.

"I uh…" Cloud didn't know what to say as he scratched his head. He looked back to Yuffie, she was smiling at him as she ate her ice cream. He smiled back at her and nodded.

"Don't worry about it, shy can be cute," she said to him, the smile never leaving her face. She picked up Leon's textbook and looked at what they were studying. "The skull, that sucks," she said looking back at Cloud, "You have to memorize every little crack and hole in the skull, I used to think that it was all individual but apparently every little hole has a name."

Cloud nodded, "It is kind of daunting," he said sighing. At that moment, Leon decided to return.

"Why are you still here bothering Cloud?" Leon said as he took as seat. Yuffie responded by sticking her tongue out at him. Leon turned to Cloud, "Hey, why don't we take a break and go get some food?"

Cloud nodded his approval and looked over to Yuffie, "Do you want to come with us?" he asked with the hope of spending more time with her. Yuffie opened her mouth to reply when the doorbell rang, Yuffie immediately smiled brightly went to get the door.

When she came back in to the kitchen, she was followed by a silver haired boy around her age. His hair was long and his bangs covered his aquamarine colored eyes. He nodded to Leon.

"I'm going to go change real quick," Yuffie said to the silver haired boy, "Wait here." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. The boy nodded and took a seat at the table.

"I hope you don't mind me taking her out tonight Leon, I promise we wont be out to late," he said.

"That's fine Riku," Leon said to him without taking his eyes off his textbook.

To say that Cloud was shocked would be the understatement of the year. His mouth hung slightly open as his brain attempted to analyze the information. This kid must be Yuffie's boyfriend. His chest felt tight, almost to the point that he couldn't breathe. He had never felt as draw to a person as he was to Yuffie. He has many girls that would love to be with him but he wanted Yuffie more than all of them combined. She was amazing. He heard her footsteps as she came back down the stairs dressed in short shorts and a black corset like top. He almost gasped aloud at how captivating her body was when it wasn't covered in her modest school uniform. Riku stood up and headed over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and lightly touched his lips to hers in a chaste kiss.

"Ready?" He asked and she nodded to him. Yuffie turned to her brother.

"By Squallie, don't wait up," She said and turned to Cloud, "It was nice meeting you Cloud, I hope my brother doesn't drive you crazy," she said as she walked to the door hand in hand with Riku.

'I really don't think your brother is the one who is going to drive me crazy,' Cloud thought to himself as she walked away with her boyfriend.

**A/N- Yeah so that's my first chapter. Review and tell me what you think. Right now it sounds like a cute little fluffy romance story but it's really not going to be anything like that, there will be major angst and the rating WILL go up. Well, review or it won't because I won't update! Lol, just kidding, but still review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Love you all. Here is chapter 2…**

Chapter 2

The park was almost empty except for a small family taking an evening walk and a young man sitting on one of the many park benches. It was a very magnificent park particularly this time of year when the leaves changed colors. People would come from every part of town to see the vibrant leaves in this specific park. Despite the parks popularity, today it was peacefully empty leaving its occupants to enjoy a tranquil evening to reflect in their own thoughts. The young man watched as a mildly strong gust of wind blew and caused a flurry of multi-colored leaves to fall around him, some landing on the bench but not one daring to fall into his platinum blonde shock of hair.

Cloud watched as a particularly bright leaf slowly descended to the bench he was lounging on. He noticed that the leaf was almost flawless, it had very few of the imperfections that adorned most dead leaves and it was a beautiful orange color. He gazed at the leaf as it landed on the slightly weathered bench a few inches from his hand. It was almost mesmerizing the way it continued to dance with the light breeze even after it had settled on the bench. Cloud reached his hand out to grab the leaf but before he could, a strong gust of wind blew it away.

'Typical,' Cloud thought to himself as he sighed, 'Everything that captivates me is always out of my reach.'

It had been three days since Cloud had gone to Leon's house to study and he still could not get the events that had conspired there out of his head. He had felt more emotions in the short amount of time he had spent at that house then he had in almost his entire life. It was almost unimaginable the way he could go from enthrallment to agony almost instantly.

Cloud's thoughts drifted back to the silver haired boy. Cloud didn't know if it was jealousy corrupting his mind or something else but that Riku looked almost identical to someone else that he knew, someone he deeply wanted to forget.

"Sephiroth," Cloud all but whispered allowed. How could he never forget that man, the man that had ruined his life. No, he wouldn't forget him, not until he killed him with his own two hands. Sephiroth had taking the most important person in his life from him. Aerith had died because of that bastard and Cloud would have his revenge one way or another.

Cloud's parents had died when he was eight and left him and his older sister, Aerith, all on their own. Aerith was only twelve years old but she had taken care of both herself and Cloud without complaint. Cloud could remember the smile that always adorned her face and the cheerful attitude she always displayed despite the intense pain that she felt deep in her heart. She never asked anything of Cloud and would do anything to make him happy.

Cloud shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts; it was no good to get lost in them here. He could already feel the pressure settling in his chest at the thoughts of his deceased sister. He closed his eyes as another strong breeze came, the sweet air stream cooling his face.

"Cloud!" came a rather loud yell, if there had been more people in the park he would be feeling very embarrassed right about now. He looked over to the source of the scream and his eyes landed on the little vixen that had been occupying his thoughts and keeping him from concentrating on much of anything but her. He suppressed a sigh as he saw her waving overenthusiastically at him with a goofy grin on her face. He waved back to her slightly and smiled back as she walked over to him. "What are you doing out here all alone?" she asked as she took a seat next to him while picking up a leaf and expecting it closely.

"Just thinking," Cloud replied.

"Oh," Yuffie said dropping the leaf and turning to look at Cloud, "Do you mind if I hang out with you for a while?" she asked.

"Squall's girlfriend is over and I really don't want to be in the house while they do whatever it is that they do," she shuddered slightly and then looked back at Cloud with a sweet smile.

Cloud immediately wanted to ask why she didn't go hang out with her 'boyfriend' but when he looked into her stormy eyes he knew he couldn't be that spiteful to her. The thought of making her feel bad made a bitter taste come to his mouth. He nodded to her not trusting himself to speak.

"Cool," Yuffie replied.

The family that had been taking a stroll in the park was now walking past them. The small boy who looked to be around five or six turned to Yuffie and made a face, sticking out his tongue and pulling at his eyelid. Yuffie snorted and puckered up like a fish while crossing her eyes. The little boy laughed and turned back to his mother. Cloud chuckled slightly at Yuffie's antics; she really was a fun girl to be around.

"Do you want to go get some coffee?" she suddenly asked looking over to him.

"Okay," Cloud said shrugging. He stood you and dusted off his pants. Yuffie did the same and gestured him to follow her.

They walked in silence to a small café that looked like a local hot spot. Yuffie led them to a booth near the back with an air of habit and Cloud briefly wondered if she came here on a regular basis. A server came and asked Yuffie if she wanted the usual to which Yuffie replied with a nod. He turned to Cloud who asked for a cup of French Roast coffee, black. The waiter nodded while writing the orders down and left with a short comment of "It'll be right up," or something along those lines.

"I love this place," Yuffie said to Cloud.

"Do you come here often?" he asked with a slightly humored tone in his voice. Yuffie nodded to him enthusiastically.

"Where else can I get coffee, chocolate, and sugar all in one beverage?" she said smiling excitedly. Cloud smiled unable to help it with the contagious joy that the young girl exuded. Yuffie smiled as much as Aerith used to he noted there was one major difference, Yuffie's smiles were genuine happiness, and they reached all the way to her eyes. When Aerith smiled, it was only to hide her emotions from him and convince Cloud that everything was all right. The last thing she wanted to do was make her little brother worry. They had one thing in common though; both Aerith and Yuffie could brighten his day with a single smile.

The server came back shortly after with their orders. Cloud accepted his coffee silently and took a sip as he looked over to Yuffie. He raised a blonde eyebrow at the concoction that sat in front of her.

"What _is_ that?" Cloud asked her, his eyebrow still rose.

"This, my friend, is a super, mocha, caramel, iced cappuccino with hot fudge and extra whipped cream," Yuffie said animatedly, "Jumbo sized," she added as an afterthought.

Cloud's other eyebrow rose to meet his already raised one as he took in all the information. He chuckled slightly and took another sip of his plain coffee.

"Do you want to try it?" she asked gesturing down the monstrosity of sugary chocolate-ness that was supposed to represent coffee. She had already gulped down a quarter of it in the time that Cloud had taken two sips of his French Roast.

"Uhh…No thanks," Cloud said shaking his head.

Yuffie shrugged and proceeded to inhale the rest of the mixture that looked like it could rot one's teeth on contact. She finished before Cloud was half way done with his small cup.

The server returned with the check, handing it to Cloud and walking away.

"How much is it?" Yuffie asked getting out her wallet to pay for her expensive cappuccino.

"I got it," Cloud said paying for both drinks. Yuffie's eyes widened at his generosity and she thanked him with a cheerful smile on her face. Cloud handed the bill back to the server when he walked by and told him he didn't need any change. Taking one last sip of his bitter java Cloud stood up to leave, Yuffie doing the same.

"So…what now?" Cloud asked as they exited the café.

"I guess I should get home," Yuffie said looking back to Cloud. Cloud nodded and opted to walk her home. They spent the walk back to her house in a comfortable silence, neither wanting to speak, simply enjoying each other's presence.

"Thank you so much for spending time with me," Yuffie said when they reached her house. It was almost dark outside, the dim light giving Yuffie an almost angelic look.

"Any time," Cloud said back.

"Really," Yuffie said back, "How about this weekend?"

Cloud looked back at her with a questioning face.

"A whole bunch of us are going camping, Squall will be there too," she said letting some of her excitement leak out through her voice. She was obviously looking forward to this trip very much.

His first reaction was to say no. Yuffie had a boyfriend, who was no doubt going on the trip as well. He looked back to Yuffie and his resolve diminished; she had so much hope in her eyes he felt that he would say yes to anything she asked of him. That was it, he had made up his mind, and he would go. Why give up the chance to be her friend? He would not come between her and Riku. He would be cordial to her, almost brotherly. He could have that kind of relationship with her, maybe she could fill the hole in his heart that Aerith had left when she had died.

He nodded hid consent to her and what she did next startled him. She nearly tackled him in a bear hug, her arms going around his neck in a tight embrace.

"Perfect! You are going to love it Cloud!" she said still hugging him. Cloud did not trust himself to return the hold, afraid he wouldn't let go of her. She let go and gave him a happy "Goodnight," as she entered her house.

Cloud stood there collecting himself. All thoughts of having a brotherly relationship with her had left his mind. It was amazing how much power she had over him. He had never thought himself a weak-minded person before, especially after everything he had been through, but for some reason he was under the spell of this young slip of a girl. He didn't think he would be satisfied with only being her friend, he wanted more, and that thought alone scared him.

**A/N- Chapter two is done! The story is kind of boring right now but trust me, it is about to get going. REVIEW! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- This chapter is dedicated to my first three reviewers. I love you guys!**

**The Keyblade Master Sora- Thank you for being my first reviewer and adding me to your favorites. I never expected to be put on any favorites list but it was a very welcome surprise.**

**Sakai-Chan- Thank you for reviewing and I look forward to reading more of your story Click Here: I reviewed it anonymously as Lauren because I was too lazy to sign in. lol**

**Kichou- Thank you for reviewing twice and putting this story on your alerts. It really made my day. Sasuke is a hottie!(note my penname)**

Chapter 3

He stepped lightly on the trail not wanting to make any more noise that was strictly necessary. There was a rather large accumulation of parched leaves covering his path and the noise that came from crushing them was unsettling in the peaceful tranquility of the deep woods. He knew that once a certain female arrived any measure of tranquility would be trampled beyond repair so he chose to enjoy the moment of peace. Even if the aforementioned female was a calm woman he knew he would still find little peace it her presence when his mind refused to acknowledge anything besides her. It was as if every fiber in his being was tuned into her.

He cleared his thoughts as he arrived at the designated campsite. Leon had spoken to him earlier and Cloud had agreed to help him with setting up the necessary accommodations for the outing. Leon had sounded annoyed at the idea of setting up the camp and Cloud knew he was doing it against his will. Somehow, Cloud sensed Yuffie had swayed her brother into setting up the camp without his compliance. Blackmail possibly, or maybe she had the same persuasive power on everyone that she possessed over him. Whatever it was it appeared as if she had gotten her way in the end.

The sight that greeted him at the campsite made him choke back a laugh. Leon was standing in the middle of a halfway set up tent with a look of mixed confusion and annoyance on his face. It appeared as if half of the tent had collapsed and a few of the cords were wrapped tightly around Leon's body. Riku was standing nearby laughing to the point of hysterics.

"Leon, what did you do?" questioned a brown spiky haired boy that had just now appeared from another area of the woods. The brunet teenager ran to help Leon but failed to notice a rather large tree root protruding from the ground. When his foot caught and he lost his balance, it was blatantly obvious that this wasn't going to end well. The youth's thoughts went from worry for Leon, to worry for himself, and then lastly to worry for himself, Leon and the tent as the incident unfolded.

Cloud watched with raised eyebrows at the catastrophe that ensued. It seemed as if it was happening in slow motion. Leon had tried to prevent the crash but the cords tangled around him prevented all maneuverability. The end result was jumbled mass of limbs, cords and tent, the half of the tent that had been standing had fallen on top of them further complicating the entanglement. Riku was laughing so much that tears had gathered in the corners of his eyes and Cloud couldn't help cracking up as well.

After a few moments of yelling, squirming and cursing Leon had managed to disentangle himself and escape. The other boy had made it halfway out but apparently could not get any further. He then began to writhe like a mad man, his arms flailing in all directions in an ineffective attempt to free himself. Leon sighed and went back to help the teen separate himself from the loathsome tent.

Once freed, both chocolate-haired men proceeded to catch their breath while sending death glares at the fiendish tent. Cloud and Riku had calmed their laughing and waited for the other two to recuperate from their moment of inelegance. Once Leon had composed himself, he then advanced on the younger one who had turned his minor problem into a major predicament.

"What the hell do you think you are doing running around here like a mad man? You couldn't have walked over and calmly helped me with the tent, Nooooo…" Leon drawled out, "It's not like the tent was going to eat me Sora, you could have taken your time you know."

"It almost ate me," Sora muttered to himself. Leon rolled his eyes and looked over to his and Sora's spectators, namely Cloud and Riku.

"Nice that you finally joined us Cloud," Leon said turning to the blonde, "Not that we need the help but you are not getting out of this slavery or as Yuffie calls it, _man_ual Labor," Leon said, the contempt dripping from his words like honey from a honeycomb. Cloud almost broke out in laughter again, he knew all this was Yuffie's doing.

"Yes Leon, I know that you have everything under control," Cloud paused to glance at the tent, "But I came anyways just in case."

"Well, that's good," Leon said contemplating a job for the new worker, "Why don't you and Riku gather some wood for the big campfire we're going to have tonight?"

Cloud nodded and turned to Riku who gestured for him to follow. Riku led them to another area of the forest that had an overabundance of fallen branches and underbrush.

"So, your name's Cloud right?" Riku asked while stepping over the stray foliage littering the non-existent path he was taking.

"Yeah," Cloud replied as he ducked under a low branch. He studied the way Riku moved; it was almost identical to _him_. It couldn't be coincidental, not with his hair and eye color. The thoughts would not leave him alone; a part of him was screaming that Riku had some kind of connection with Sephiroth.

"Riku, you have very a fascinating hair color," Cloud said casually, "Is it dyed or natural?"

"Natural," Riku said without looking at Cloud.

"Does anyone else in your family have the same hair color?" Cloud asked him and listened carefully for the answer.

Riku visibly tensed and stopped to turn and face Cloud. Cloud did the same and patiently waited. Riku seemed lost in thought for a moment but quickly snapped out of it.

"It's from my father's side of the family, he had this same silver hair but he is dead now," Riku said and Cloud noticed that he did not seem sad about his father being dead, "He died before I was born," Riku added, "The only other person I have ever seen with the same hair color is my brother."

This caught Cloud's interest, "Brother?" he asked. Riku nodded while breaking his eye contact with Cloud and looking at the ground in deep contemplation. "Do you see him often?"

Riku snapped his head up and Cloud could see the anger reflecting in their aquamarine depths. The anger was not directed at Cloud, however, but to an unseen being, perhaps a memory.

"No," Riku ground out through clenched teeth and Cloud could feel the hatred radiating off the boy in almost tangible waves, "He is no longer my brother, he is dead to me now." Cloud was on the verge of asking another question but was interrupted before he could voice a word.

"I really don't want to talk about him anymore," Riku said bitterly while turning back to journey down the path. Cloud let the subject drop for now but he was by no means finished with questioning the silver-haired youth. He was almost certain that Sephiroth was who Riku was talking about and if it was then this was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

The rest of the excursion to gather firewood was spent in silence with tension so tough a meat cleaver would fail to make a dent. When they had made it back to the campsite, arms filled to the brink with wood, they noticed the girls had already arrived. Cloud was quickly introduced to Leon's girlfriend Rinoa who Leon had told him about on many occasions before.

The evening was spent with roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over the bonfire. Yuffie and Sora were having a small fight with their marshmallows in the fire until Sora's burst into flames. He tried to put the fire out by shaking the stick rapidly but only succeeded in launching it across the campsite. The flaming marshmallow glided past Leon's head by only a few inches. Leon turned to the spiky haired boy with a look of sheer fury.

"Are you trying to kill me today or something?" Leon all but screamed at the terrified boy who was attempting to hide behind Yuffie. The others laughed humorously while the older brunet attempted to chase the younger around the site and strangle him.

During the commotion, in which everyone had been occupied, Cloud noticed Riku get up and walk down a secluded path that led to the nearby lake. Cloud followed intent on attaining more information from him. Riku had stopped at the edge of the lake and stared at the reflection of the moon, distorted from the slight choppiness of the lake water. Cloud approached him slowly, almost warily, as is he would suddenly turn into Sephiroth himself.

"So tell me Cloud, do you still work for the organization?" Riku asked him without turning his eyes from the lake water.

Cloud's surprise was clearly written on his face, 'How long has he known?' he thought to himself.

"No," Cloud ground out almost painfully, "I will never work for them again."

Riku then turned to him and made eye contact, "My brother told me about you, before he had gone crazy; he said you were the best assassin that Organization XIII had ever seen. The way he spoke about you was as if you were the answer to all problems."

"I was young then," Cloud said shaking his head, "I didn't even have the answers to my own problems."

"Whether or not you knew what you were doing at the time does not change the fact that you were the best. The admiration that my brother had for you had quickly turned to jealousy, he began to hate you and your talent with every fiber of his being. It was around that time that he killed our mother and attempted to kill me as well," Riku said solemnly, "After that he had completely lost all measure of sanity."

"That must have been around the time he killed Aerith," Cloud said, more to himself than to Riku.

"Tell me this Cloud, do you hate m brother as much as I do?" Riku asked him, his detestation of his brother was evident in each word he spoke. Cloud nodded his concurrence.

"If I find him for you, will you kill him," Riku then asked seriously. Cloud was taken back at how easily Riku spoke of his brother's imminent death but shook off the feeling and nodded again. Riku smiled at this, "Lets head back to the camp then, we can talk more about this when we're not supposed to be having fun," the silver haired youth said while walking back to camp.

Cloud followed him and watched as Riku sat next to Yuffie, placing his arm securely around her waist. Cloud looked on bitterly as Sephiroth's carbon copy embraced the woman that Cloud was infatuated with.

'We may be allies now,' Cloud though to himself, 'but when this is over, and Sephiroth is dead, we will be rivals again, rivals for Yuffie's love.'

**A/N- Chapter 3 done! Review or calico colored guinea pig will eat off you other leg! **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Beaute d'un Ninja, thank you so much for the wonderful review. It made me very happy to hear such kind words about my writing. This chapter is dedicated to you.**

Chapter 4

The air was muggy and smelled like death and musk. The humidity caused the long silver strands of his hair to stick to his face and neck like glue. The air made his aquamarine eyes sting and he blinked to clear them as he focused on the figure ahead of him.

'I really don't want to be here!' he thought to himself as he continued to follow the cloaked form.

Once they had reached, what looked to be a small office in the very bowels of the cave, the cloaked individual stopped and gestured for him to be seated. He did so and watched as the man threw back his hood revealing a mass of spiky red hair. A cocky smile was on the redhead man's face as he flung himself into the large office chair and crossed his legs atop the desk.

"So... what can I do for you Riku?" he asked, the cocky grin never leaving his face.

"I need you to find someone for me," Riku replied firmly. He watched as the ruby haired man turned to a nearby laptop and began to type.

"What's the name?" he questioned. His bulk of crimson spikes swayed lightly as he cracked the stiff joints of his neck.

"Axel… I want you to find my brother," Riku said, his eyes turning to examine the reaction of the red head.

Axel ceased typing the moment the word brother was uttered. He slowly turned his head to look at the silver haired boy, the cocky grin no longer on his face.

"Are you _crazy_?" Axel asked, his voice rising in volume with each word, "Do you want to _die_?"

Riku shook his head as an arrogant smirk made its way to his face. Axel looked at him warily, knowing that good things never came from that smirk.

"What are you planning?" he asked hesitantly, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

Riku's smirk grew wider at Axel's words; his friend really did know him too well.

"I won't be the one who fights him," Riku said calmly, the smugness clearly displayed in his voice.

"What? Who could…" Axel began.

"Someone who wants him dead as much as I do," Riku interrupted. He watched as the confusion on Axel's face slowly turned to understanding.

"Do you mean, _Strife_?" The red head asked, his voice sounded astounded. Riku answered with another nod.

Riku could see the question was still on Axel's face; the man was dumbfounded about the whole situation. Riku let out a sigh and began to explain.

"He is a friend of my girlfriend and her brother," Riku began. Axel let out a sharp laugh and Riku looked at his quizzically.

"You let a guy like Cloud Strife near your girlfriend?" the scarlet haired man asked amused, "Do you know how many girls chased after him when he worked at the organization? They wouldn't leave him alone!"

Riku let his annoyance display openly on his face as he gave Axel a threatening glare.

"Do you have any information on Sephiroth or not?" Riku asked irritated. Axel's cocky grin came back to his face.

"No need to get so angry Riku, I was just joking with you," Axel said as he began to type again. Riku sighed heavily and relaxed in his seat. The sound of the computer keys echoed eerily in the hollow caverns of the cave. Riku wiped a sticky lock of silver hair off his forehead as he waited for Axel to finish searching.

"That's strange," Axel said, more to himself than to Riku.

"What is it?" Riku questioned, not liking the sound of Axel's comment. Axel picked up his laptop and began walking to the exit.

"I'm going to have to link up to the main computer system in the lab. Stay here and out of trouble," the red head said without taking his eyes off the computer screen. Riku watched him leave and groaned loudly.

'Great, leave me alone in the creepy cave that smells like corpses,' Riku thought to himself spitefully. He made himself more comfortable as he waited for Axel's return.

XXXXX

He could hear the loud music coming from inside as he stepped up to door. The windows of the house would shake lightly during every bass note. He noticed that the nearby houses all had their windows covered as if they were trying to block out the sound. The line of cars nearby confirmed that the house must be full to the brink. He took a deep breath as he stepped up to the door and knocked loud enough to be heard over the music.

He knew that Leon's parties were practically notorious among the locals and had denied all invitations to come up until now. He was not really the partying type and preferred solitude over crowds any day. He contributed that to the fact that he had very few friends while younger and he had never been completely comfortable around others. Not many people wanted to be close to the greatest assassin of the infamous Organization XIII. Fear was an ally when you worked in the shadows.

He heard footsteps as they approached the door and he was suddenly feeling doubtful about coming at all. He began to wish that he had turned the offer down like all of the others. As the doorknob turned, he began to wonder what had made him say yes in the first place. Why would someone like him put himself in a situation where human contact was inevitable?

'No escape now,' he thought to himself as the door opened and he was greeted with a pair of curious gray eyes. He watched as the curious look was replaced with one of absolute joy and he remembered his reason behind coming. He couldn't explain the way he felt when she looked at him like that. He had never been around someone who felt happy for him just being around, no strings attached. Everyone wanted something in return, that's what he always thought. However, when he looked into the stormy gray depths of her eyes he saw pure, unadulterated elation simply by his presence.

"Cloud! I'm so glad you're here!" she practically yelled as she opened the door wide for him to enter. He looked around the room as he stepped through the threshold and noticed that the house was in fact, packed. He looked back to Yuffie as she closed the door. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks as she grabbed his arm and proceeded to drag him into the kitchen.

"Squall is making out with Rinoa, Sora is making a move on Kairi, and Riku is on some stupid trip!" she all but yelled out, exasperated, "Thank god you showed up, I was about to go crazy!"

Cloud gave a shy smile and watched as she dug through the numerous bottles of alcohol on the counter. She gave a cry of delight when she found something worthy and began to poor herself a glass.

"What are you drinking?" she asked gesturing at the mass amount of beverages lining the cabinet.

"I'm fine," he said while shaking his head. She shrugged and took a large gulp of her drink.

One hour later…

Yuffie was drunk. Not the normal drunk where you slur words and stumble over imaginary objects, but the kind of drunk that has everyone's attention focused on you.

Cloud sighed as she continued to laugh hysterically over some comment he had made on his anatomy class with Leon. She was drawing everyone's attention to them and he was beginning to regret not putting a stop to her drinking earlier. People were giving him dirty looks as if it was his fault she was so intoxicated. He groaned loudly as she continued to laugh.

"Cloud, I swear, you are the funniest guy in the world!" she said through her hysterics. He reached to grab the bottle of vodka that she had in her hand but she moved it out of reach at the last moment.

"Yuffie, give me the bottle," he said through grinding teeth. She looked at him with a lopsided grin and shook her head.

"Get your own," she told him as she stuck her tongue out. Cloud sighed again; the situation was beginning to get extremely annoying. He watched suddenly as her face lit up and a she began to clap her hands happily.

"This is my most favorite song in the whole world!" she shouted loudly and began to stumble into the living room. Cloud followed her in fear of what she was going to do next. His face paled drastically when she climbed onto the coffee table and proceeded to dance quite suggestively.

'This is not good,' he though, panicking, 'Where the hell is Leon at a time like this!'

Catcalls could be heard coming from most of the men in the room and a crowd seemed to have materialized around her. Cloud struggled to get through the multitude of bodies that were surrounding the dancing girl. He was pushed back by an overly hormonal man and he lost sight of Yuffie through the mob. He began to push through again but stopped when his face was covered by some kind of fabric. As he examined the cloth closer, he felt all of the color drain from his face when he recognized the object. He was holding Yuffie's shirt. Panic overtook reason as he forced his way through the horde and gaped at what he saw.

Yuffie was dancing on the table, in her bra, and still holding the vodka. When she saw Cloud, she waved and reached her hand out to him. She obviously wanted him to join her.

'As much as I would love to dance with you, especially while you are moving your hips like that, I don't think the end result would be very good for either of us,' Cloud thought to himself.

He groaned in exasperation as he grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her down of the table and into his arms. There were cries of protest from the gathering and Yuffie was struggling in his arms.

"Cloud," she said in a whiny voice, "I want to dance!"

He shook his head wordlessly and began to walk out of the room, carrying her effortlessly in his arms. He walked up the stairs and into her bedroom, kicking the door closed as he stepped in. He gently sat her on the bed and yanked the bottle out of her hands before she could retaliate. She gave a whine of protest as Cloud relocated the vodka out of her reach.

"Meanie," he heard her mumble under her breath. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a huff of displeasure.

"Yuffie, I think that you have had enough to drink tonight," he said to her in an attempt to reason with the drunken girl. He sat down next to her on the bed and put a comforting arm around her shoulders, "You need to go to bed and sleep off the alcohol. Tomorrow you're going to have a hangover from hell," he gave a light chuckle in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Take two Advil in the morning, eat some toast for breakfast, and drink plenty of water," he advised her. She gave no indication that she had heard anything he had said and he heaved an irritated sigh.

'Why am I even bothering to tell her this,' he thought to himself, 'It's not like she is going to remember anything tomorrow.'

He felt her shift under his arm and he turned to her quizzically. She was a lot closer to him then he would have expected. Her breath was warm on his cheek and smelled vaguely of the alcohol that she had consumed. She moved her hand to rest on his far cheek and brought her face even closer to his. He was at a loss for words as he gazed into the depths of her gray eyes. Even with the haze of alcohol clouding the stormy gray orbs, he found they were still completely breathtaking.

He rested his forehead against hers as he tried to gather himself and his self-control. She was so captivating in the darkness of her room, the only light coming from the window and the streetlamp outside. The pale skin of her body seemed to glow divinely and drew him like a moth to a flame.

"Yuffie, don't…" he didn't get to finish as she silenced him with her lips.

The kiss was fiery and passionate, her mouth exploring his in a lust filled frenzy. He found himself pushed on his back and her tiny body resting atop him, continuing to kiss him fervently. Her hips were pressed into his and he moved his hands to her waist to hold her closer. He knew every bit of this was wrong. She was drunk beyond belief and had no idea what she was doing.

_It's not like she is going to remember anything tomorrow _

His previous thoughts came back to him as he fell deeper into the desire she was igniting in his body. She moved her kisses to his neck and he turned to the side to give her better access to the tender skin. His eyes landed on her dresser as she nipped lightly on his flesh. Her dresser was a complete mess, littered with clothing and books. The thing that caught his interest, however, was the 8x10 framed picture of a silver haired boy holding his girlfriend as she looked at him with all the love in the world. He felt a deep, throbbing pain in his heart and he pushed Yuffie away before she could succeed in unbuttoning his pants.

She looked at him quizzically as he got up from the bed and turned away from her. He could not look at her, he knew that if did he would forget everything and jump back into the daze of lust without any remorse. He walked to the door and paused, his hand resting on the doorknob.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing he said before walking out the door, leaving Yuffie alone in the darkness of her room.

**A/N- Chapter 4 is done! Review please. **


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- Hello! It's been a while since I have updated but I have been very busy, Karate tournaments and such. I've been making one shots and I started another story. It's a dark Yuriku if anyone wants to check it out. Well… on with the story!

Chapter 5

The forest was a silent and tranquil place that created a calm atmosphere. The light wind passing through only added to the serenity by making the tree branches hum lightly, almost like an enchanting song of nature. The autumn leaves covered the ground in a multicolored spectrum of browns that moved almost liquidly with stronger gusts of wind.

Even thought it was nearly noon, the thick canopy of leaves created a shield from the scorching sun. Beneath the cover stood a young man, his cerulean eyes focused in a meditative concentration. In his hands was a massive sword, its blade nearly four feet long with a foot long hilt for controllability. He held the sword with steady hands, as if it was no larger than a simple wakizashi, and seemed to be putting very little effort into doing so.

Sweat dripped off his body profusely, making the smaller blond spikes of his hair stick to his red-flushed face. Some of the salty liquid fell into his eyes and he was forced to blink the saline fluid away to clear his vision. His body glistened in the light sunlight leaking through the leaves and his black shirt clung to the wetness of his skin.

Another gust of wind passed through the clearing, causing several of the dying leaves to flutter downward. They scattered like snow around his alert form and he watched them closely, paying attention to every fluid move they made as they descended.

Something suddenly flashed in his eyes and the muscles in his body tensed slightly in anticipation. His hands tightened their grip on the sword and he moved his feet into a better stance, his knees bending slightly for better balance and control. His eyes focused on the falling leaves, watching each closely as they fell around him.

With speed that was nearly imperceptible to the untrained eye, he launched toward the falling leaves as they continued their random movements in the wind. His enormous sword was raised to strike and his blond eyebrows were furrowed as he focused his strength into the impending strike.

The sword moved so fast that it was impossible to tell how many times he had swung it in the fraction of a second that he had moved. The strikes that could be made out were the powerful vertical slash that he had begun his attack with, several high-speed diagonal slashes in between and he horizontal slash with one hand that had ended his onslaught. Each of the attack had a perfect balance of speed and power to cause the most amount of damage to any target.

He took a deep breath as he lowered his sword to a more comfortable level and he watched as the majority of the leaves split in two from his attack. Catching one of the shredded leaves in the palm of his hand, he examined it closely, running his finger across the gash to feel the cleanness of the cut.

"Damn it," he said in slight frustration as he threw the leaf to the ground. He stabbed his massive sword into the earth and kneeled down to examine the other leaves that he had slashed.

'They're all the same,' he thought to himself, 'the cuts aren't nearly as clean as they should be,' he let the leaves slide from his hand as his thoughts began to wander. He hadn't been able to focus his mind clearly the entire day. Something else was occupying it.

"Yuffie," he whispered unconsciously, the sound barely louder than the wind. He closed his eyes tightly as he tried to keep his mind from drifting to the night before.

When he had decided to train this morning, he knew that it was for more than just one reason. It was true that he was very much in need of training, especially since he would be facing Sephiroth soon. He was tremendously rusty with his swordplay, as it had been at least a year since he had picked up any sword for a significant cause. The fact that his cuts had been so ragged was proof enough that his technique needed some fine-tuning.

The other reason that he had decided to train in the deep woods, away from all measure of civilization, was to get his mind off the previous night and what had transpired at Leon's party. He could remember everything that had happened as clear as day. The way her lips tasted as they kissed and the way her body melted into his, as if they were two parts of a whole, were memories permanently etched into his mind. That night had been like a dream, something too perfect and marvelous to be real. It was only fitting that it ended just as a dream would, with a major wake up call.

He shook his head to prevent his mind from digging deeper into the memories he was trying to bury. He would never forget that night, not in a million years, but the last thing he needed was to have his mind distracted.

He stood from his kneeling position and wiped the clinging dirt from his black pants. Placing his hand firmly on the hilt of his sword, he pulled the massive weapon from the ground with one smooth tug. He gave the blade a halfhearted swing that did little more than detach the sticking soil from the flawless carbon steel.

He glanced over to his black motorcycle parked a few yards away from the area in which he was training. Fenrir was standing as majestic as ever, the black finish of the paint shimmering in the sun. Cloud walked over to bike with the large sword flung casually over his shoulder.

"Maybe a smaller sword would be better to start with," he said as he pressed a button near the handle of the black motorcycle, causing several swords to jet out in an arranged rack from the sides of Fenrir. The large sword in his hand was placed in an empty holder in favor of a slighter one, which would still be considered massive to an ordinary person.

"Much lighter," he said as he took an experimental swing. He moved back to the center of the clearing and stood in a fighting stance, preparing to continue his training.

* * *

He woke slowly, his eyes blinking to clear the sleepy blurriness from them. He had a headache worse than any he could clearly remember; even worse than the hangovers he always got after Leon's parties.

'Maybe I'm so used to going to the parties that even if I miss one I'll still get a hangover,' he thought drolly.

He looked around the room as he tried to remember were he was. His sleep-filled mind was refusing to cooperate and the headache only worsened it. He rubbed his eyes with his hand as he continued to scrutinize the room.

The bed he was laying on looked old and well used. The sheets, that he assumed were once an unpolluted white, were now a light tan color. There were several dark stains on the pillow and he wouldn't have been surprised if a cockroach popped out from under it. He ran a hand through the long silver strands of his hair warily as he surveyed the rest of the room. The walls of the room were a natural rock, like that of a cave. He placed his hand on the hard stone of the wall and something in his mind clicked as his brain seemed to resume normal function.

"Time to wake up sleepy head," came a voice from the entrance of the small room. There were no doors, only a curtain separated this part of the cave from the rest.

"Oh," came the voice again, nearer this time, "I see you're already awake."

Riku turned toward the entrance to see the red headed Axel step in, a stack of papers held in his hand. The spiky haired man pulled up a ragged looking chair, which was sitting near the side of the bed, and took a seat in front of Riku.

"I have some information for you," Axel said gesturing to the mound of papers.

"You better," Riku replied with an annoyed look on his face, "I didn't spend the night in this shit hole for you to find nothing."

"Always so appreciative aren't you Riku," the red head said as he handed the papers to the now glaring Riku.

"Shut up," Riku said as he yanked the stack of documents from the smirking Axel.

The silver haired boy looked at the papers, flipping to the more useful ones. When his eyes landed on the tracking location page, he let out a small gasp. He turned his widened aquamarine eyes back to Axel in shock.

"What is this?"

**A/N- This was a short boring chapter. I think I am going to revise this story because I really don't like some parts of it. I don't know.**

**My sister keeps dropping her kids over for me to baby-sit against my will! I'm a bad roll model though, I keep them up to watch adult swim at night and I let them play grand theft auto san andreas all day. LOL. I taught the oldest how to pick up the prostitutes! Maybe my sister wont keep dropping them off when she hears all of the new words they have learned! **

**The little brats gave me a cold too! That only added to the lateness of this update. Sorry.**


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